Fitness First in £200m revamp to lure back old fans May 11, 2015 Gym chains profit from helping people stay in shape, which is no easy feat when the customer in desperate need of a health kick is the club itself. Fitness First, which was rescued by its lender Oaktree Capital from the brink of collapse in 2012, has faced the gruelling task of getting back on form [...]
GW Pharmaceuticals reports high hopes for its cannabis-based childhood epilepsy drug Epidiolex despite losses May 11, 2015 British drugmaker GW Pharmaceuticals yesterday posted a widened half-year, pre-tax loss, as it invested more in its cannabis-based Epidiolex treatment for childhood epilepsies. The pharmaceutical company, dual listed on Aim in London and the Nasdaq in New York, posted a pre-tax loss of £13.7m for the six months ending March, which widened from £10.6m a [...]
Shell’s plan to drill in the Arctic is approved by US Department of Interior May 11, 2015 The Arctic is one of the most oil and gas-rich places on the planet, containing an estimated 20 per cent of the world's undiscovered reserves. It's no wonder, then, that Royal Dutch Shell has set its sights on drilling there, and it has just received “conditional” approval from the US Department of Interior to do [...]
Citigroup reveals it could plead guilty in Forex investigation May 11, 2015 Citigroup has said it could plead guilty to antitrust charges relating to Forex manipulation. The US bank is one of six being investigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ), over claims that employees colluded to change foreign exchange rates to boost their own profits. They are accused of sharing confidential information about clients [...]
Tesco splits with auditor PwC after 32 years choosing Deloitte for turnaround May 11, 2015 Tesco has split with PwC, ending a 32-year relationship with the accounting firm following the worst year in the supermarket's near-century history. A Tesco spokesperson said: “We have issued an invitation to tender for the appointment of an auditor. Taking into account the term for which PWC has served as auditor, we have agreed with [...]
UK Oil and Gas Investments share price jumps on another Horse Hill oil estimate upgrade May 11, 2015 Shares in UK Oil and Gas Investments (UKOG), the company behind the oil discovery at Horse Hill near Gatwick, were up six per cent in early trading after estimates for how much oil there is in sandstone rocks in the area were upgraded. The new estimates are separate to the one made last month claiming [...]
ITE Group share price jumps as it shakes off Russia woes May 11, 2015 A sign of the times? Exhibitions and conferences business ITE Group, whose largest market is Russia and Ukraine, says it's back on form. The figures Alright, so the company's pre-tax profits fell 3.9 per cent to £17.5m in the six months to the end of March, while revenues dropped from £71.2m in 2014 to £56.1m. And net debt rose to [...]
Afren share price falls after it admits it will miss interest payment May 11, 2015 Afren will miss an interest payment on its debts as the company looks to preserve its cash during restructuring negotiations. The Africa-based oil firm, which has endured a 98 per cent collapse in its share price during a torrid year, will miss a $12.8m (£8.3m) interest payment resulting in a formal default on bonds due [...]
Lonmin to restructure business and cut up to 3,500 jobs as profits tumble May 11, 2015 South African mining company Lonmin has announced it could axe 3,500 jobs as it seeks to cut 10 per cent from its labour costs. In its half-yearly results released today (six months to 31 March) the miner, which owns the Marikana platinum mine where 34 workers were shot dead by police during a strike in [...]
HSBC creates £8bn UK small business fund May 11, 2015 HSBC has set aside £8bn to lend to small and medium-sized businesses in the UK. The bank's small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) loan offering will reach 43 areas of the country, with Scotland, Birmingham and Manchester, receiving at least £400m each. Fees on qualifying business loans worth between £1,000 and £300,000 will be waived or [...]
